I’m trying to keep the momentum going with my new Build It series. Today I completed the painting of the primary parts for the interior of the Walthers Modern Diesel House. I completed the elevated platform and track supports. See the video and exclusive photos inside. Continue reading Build It: Walthers Modern Diesel House 2 – Platform and Track Supports Assembly
I decided to create a new YouTube channel as a companion for this blog. As I build my layout I will attempt to capture each step of the process for others to see what I’ve done. I hope to cover each building, scenery, DCC, benchwork, etc and other related topics. Click thru to watch the first video.
Continue reading New YouTube channel with new series… Build It
I think I’ve fallen into the trap that many modelers find themselves in with their layout progress, the layout design will never be perfect. At least now that I’ve attempted my fifteenth layout plan I’m realizing that the room is actually pretty small and has a lot of limitations. So I’ve narrowed down two designs, tweaks allowed, to move forward with. I realized that once we move from this house, it’ll all be for nothing anyways and rip it all apart when I have a new, hopefully much bigger, space. In the meantime, I had a little eBay crazy period and scooped up some buildings and rolling stock that I wanted for the layout. Click-thru for the full details.
Continue reading Layout Progress: Some…
I’m waffling more than a politician in the 2016 presidential election on if I should switch to N scale or stick to HO scale for the Merrimack Valley model railroad layout. I went back to Charles Ro Supply on Friday and bought my first N scale Guilford boxcar and a section of Atlas code 55 flex track. But being in the store, there is just so much more option wise for HO than N scale. I mean, just look at the Walthers catalogs, the HO is twice as thick. So over the weekend, I created another four model railroad layouts using XTrackCAD. Two in N scale, two in HO scale. Click thru to see the plans.
Continue reading A Few More Model Railroad Layout Ideas
I’ve been working on the railroad… Maybe not quite as literal as the song, but progress is being made with the model railroad layout planning. I’ve been using XTrkCAD to do the track planning. I did my first attempts on paper and then on the Atlas Track Planning Software, but it wasn’t that great. I kind of wish these software packages has an automatic benchwork tool that could make modules or standard benchwork depending on your preference. Would save me the effort of making another layer. To see my YouTube update of how planning is going, read more…
Continue reading Model Railroad Layout Planning
As I continue to plan my Merrimack Valley model railroad I’ve been reading more about prototyping, or proto as kids call it these days, a real railroad / industries / locations. Some people even suggest doing a snap shot of an exact date in time. The other option is freelance, otherwise known as make whatever the hell you want. When I was at Charles Ro Supply last week, see my post from Friday, I saw some Guilford and Boston & Maine locomotives. So this got my mind thinking and I said, “Hey self! What if we made a hybrid proto model railroad of Guilford and the other older lines it gobbled up?” Not a bad idea! So here’s my story, the Merrimack Valley Railroad was a small line and purchased by Guilford. Along with Boston & Maine and the Maine Central Railroad, I should be able to combine the available roadnames without having to do a fancy custom job. And maybe just ignore that Guilford becomes Pam Am in my time frame.
As for scenery, I’ve decided to use real town names from New England but I think operations and industries are going to be freelance / proto to the region. Ex: Lumber / paper / passenger / fishing.
I spent a fair amount of time on Google Maps looking for a model railroad store. I hunted around the areas where I live and work. I think I found a huge diamond in the rough, the Charles Ro Supply Company in Malden, MA. It is a few minutes detour when going to or from work and they are open till 9pm on Fridays. This could be dangerous…